Math 6342: Point-Set Topology, Fall
2008
Basic Info
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Instructor: |
Dr. Mark
Tomforde
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Office: |
601 PGH
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Phone: |
713-743-3672
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Office Hours: |
(by appointment)
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Syllabus: |
Download the Syllabus
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Lecture: |
MWF 1:00PM -- 2:00PM in 345 PGH
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: |
There are no announcements at
this time. |
Exams and Homework
Homework:
Due Friday, Dec. 5
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7, Sec. 43, 45--47; Chapter 8, Sec. 48
To Be Handed In: Nothing. Prepare for final.
Due Wednesday, Nov. 19
Reading Assignment: Chapter 3, Sec. 23--29; Chapter 4, Sec. 30--36;
Chapter 5, Sec. 37--38
To Be Handed In: Homework 4
Due Monday, Oct. 13
Reading Assignment: Chapter 2, Sec. 18--22, Chapter 3, Sec. 23--26
To Be Handed In: Homework 3
Due Friday, Sept. 19
Reading Assignment: Chapter 2, Sec. 14--17
To Be Handed In: Homework 2
Due Wednesday, Sept. 10
Reading Assignment: Chapter 1 (most of this should be review) and Sec.
12--13
To Be Handed In: Homework 1
Exam Dates:
Exam 1 -- In-Class portion on Sept. 22, Take-Home portion due Sept. 26
Exam 2 -- In-Class portion on Oct. 20, Take-Home portion due Oct. 24
Final Exam -- In-Class portion on Wed., Dec. 17, 2-5PM, Take-Home due
then.
Miscellaneous Resources
- It will be important for you to read your textbook in this course.
If you are unfamiliar with reading mathematics textbooks, here is a
collection of Tips for Reading Your
Mathematics Textbook that I have written.
- Here are some links to sites about point-set topology.
- The history of mathematics is an important subject. It gives a
context
in which to view the results that one learns in math classes.
Furthermore it shows that mathematics is, first and
foremost, a human activity. By looking at the historical development of
many areas of mathematics we see that it took a long time for many of its
ideas to be
rigorized. Like many areas of human understanding, the development of
mathematics was not a
careful march down a well-cleared highway, but rather a journey into a
strange wilderness, where the explorers often got lost and many wrong
turns were taken. If you find yourself struggling to understand the
concepts introduced in this course, then you are in good company. Many
of the greatest minds in mathematics struggled with these same concepts
over a period of thousands of years.
MacTutor
History of Mathematics Archive.
In particular, you can read about the
History
of Topology.
- For something different, check out this Nova site about one
of the greatest achievements of mathematics in the 20th
century:
The proof of Fermat's Last
Theorem
- Also check out some unsolved problems in mathematics
and the various awards that are given to people working towards the
solutions of these, and many other, problems in mathematics:
- And for something a little lighter, check out
Mathematrix, and in particular, Math
Comics.